2014-15 Round 2

West Bend Grand Prix - Lack Track - West Bend, WI

Round 2 of 15

September 27, 2014

2014 West Bend Grand Prix

Lack Rules West Bend GP

West Bend, WI – They say that it really doesn't count if you win at your own track. But Mike Lack doesn't really care what they say and he proved that by dominating the IndySlotCar Series West Bend Grand Prix at the Lack Track.

A short field showed up to contest round 2 of the 2014-2015 IndySlotCar Series season. Lack sped to the pole outrunning the other four drivers participating. The only driver to break the four second barrier lack captured his thirteenth career pole with a 3.99 second trip around the short and twisty track.

The rest of the drivers lined up for a heat race to determine the final three positions in the feature. Ev Kamikawa, second fastest in qualifying, took the heat win in his Penske HO ride. Dean Strom and John Wiedemann also transferred to the final, leaving Target Fitz Ganassi Racing driver Mike Kristof to spectate for the remainder of the event.

When the final started, it was clear that Lack was the driver to beat. Strom ran strong but a slow mid-race pit stop dropped him to third in the running order behind Wiedemann. Kamikawa seemed to lose his magic from qualifying and the heat race as he faded back in the field.

With Lack setting his Lack Wiedemann Motorsports Honda on cruise control, easily rolling toward the checkers, the battle late in the race was between Wiedemann and Strom. Wiedemann started the second half in third, just a couple laps behind Strom in second. When the Out of the Box Racing team struggled with Strom's pitstop, Wiedemann took advantage and stepped into second place with a three lap advantage. But with the race reaching its conclusion, Strom's speed was too much for Wiedemann to hold off. Driving past the car's handling, Wiedemann lost contact with the track and Strom buzzed past to take second place with a two lap advantage when the checkers flew.

Lack's win, the 14th of his career and first of the young season, jumped the reigning champion into the standings lead. Lack took home a boat-load of cash by capturing the pole-to-win award.

West Bend, WI – John Wiedemann scored a dominating win in the third annual West Bend Grand Prix at the Lack Track, the third race of the 2013/14 IndySlotCar Series season, breaking records along the way. With a short field of competitors making the trip north to West Bend, the point standings were in for a change. Two of the top five drivers in the points after the first two races were missing from the lineup adding to the shakeup.

Wiedemann captured the pole with a track record run of 3.971 seconds in qualifying on the short technical road course. JMM teammate Mike Lack qualified second with Dungeons and Dragons Racing's Matt Hayek continuing to show speed in short track qualifying by laying down the third fastest time.

A new rule this season is that after qualifying heat races would be set up by qualifying results or by random. For this first time, the lineup was not random and the four fastest qualifiers were pitted against each other in the first heat race with the ability for only two to move on to the feature. Wiedemann took control of the heat race early with Hayek following closely throughout the race. When the checkered flag flew, Wiedemann and Hayek gained entry into the feature race and JMM Racing teammates Lack and Fitzlaff did not gain entry into the feature field.

The second heat race was won by Ev Kamikawa who easily outdistanced the field. Dean Strom captured the final spot in the feature race holding off D&D Racing's Mike Kristof for a second place finsh.

Wiedemann and Hayek separated themselves from the field early in the feature and quickly put laps between themselves and Kamikawa and Strom. While the first half of the twenty minute timed race rolled on, Wiedemann was able to move ahead of Hayek by a lap but couldn't increase the gap beyond that. During pitstops at the start of the second half all drivers were able to get in and out of the pits without incident. Hayek spun off the track following his pitstop and gave up more ground to Wiedemann while serving a penalty for the incident. That gap was all that Wiedemann needed as he cruised to the sixth win of his IndySlotCar career with a race record 243 laps. Penske HO racer Kamikawa made a valiant effort to catch Hayek in the second half but had to settle for third. Strom, who struggled with handling issues, finished fourth in the Karen Carpenter Racing ride.

A maximum point day by Wiedemann allowed him to jump up to second place in points behind Lack. Strom also gained ground in the championship chase, moving up two spots to third. Kamikawa is fourth in points, one point behind Strom. One more point back is a tie for fifth between teammates Hayek and Kristof.

LACK TRACK HISTORY (3 events, 2011 - Present)

DateRace WinnerEvent Name

10/8/2011 Ev Kamikawa West Bend Grand Prix

10/13/2012 Mike Lack West Bend Grand Prix

9/28/2013 John Wiedemann West Bend Grand Prix

Top Stories

--Matt Hayek opened the season with a win at the Deckertring, Mike Lack began his championship defense started with a second place while his teammate and Husarsbilt Cup runner up suffered a DNF by dealing himself the death card.

Who’s Hot

--Matt Hayek wins the opener

--John Wiedemann scores the pole at the Deckertring

Stats Watch

--Matt Hayek’s win at the Deckertring was his 4th and put him in a 3-way tie for 15th on the all time list.

--Hayek also moved into 18th for finals with 20 and 19th in laps turned ahead of John Baas.

--The Deckertring was Mike Lack’s 90th start of his career.

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